Sphere of Freedom

The Ninth Doctor Adventures Series 1 #1.1

Released: 13 May 2021

Listened: 9/10/22

Now we reach the proper “Ninth Doctor Adventures,” a series released starting in 2021, with Christopher Eccleston returning to the role. With all due respect to Nick Briggs’ voice acting, this is the real deal. Briggs also wrote and directed this first boxed set, called “Ravagers,” because I guess being the Executive Producer has its privileges. Again, giving him credit, he’s produced a story that fits nicely with modern Who, especially this first story, which hits the ground running and doesn’t let up on the pace, much like the first part of “Rose.” Also much like “Rose,” we focus on the Doctor and companion first, and the plot gets filled in later. Nova, played by Camilla Beeput, is the temporary companion for this story, and she does a nice job of being the kind of companion the Ninth Doctor needs right now: curious and capable, interested in what’s going on, but not big on empathy or adventure. The story starts out on the Sphere of Freedom, a planet run by a corporation that makes virtual reality games. (Which isn’t a problem; the Doctor really likes VR games.) The CEO, of course, is acting all evil and oppressing the populace to get the games made. Oh, and somehow using time eddies that could tear the universe apart. One of these eddies dumps a Roman legion in London, 1959, meaning that the Doctor has to try to keep either side from getting killed, because there’s no UNIT around yet. It also means that we get to hear Dan Starkey practice his Latin as the Centurion. He sounds just a little bit too Sontaran (sorry, Dan), but I think that’s to be expected. All of which adds up to a case where the Doctor turned up, saw an injustice, tried to do a clever thing to fix it without telling anybody what he was up to, and it all went terribly wrong. However, the three stories in this set are one connected story, so this is just the opening act. Sets a nice tone, though.